Facebook is wildly popular in Palestine. There was a brief period during the 2011 Arab revolutions when Twitter challenged its popularity, but Facebook ultimately prevailed as the dominant Palestinian social media platform. As part of a basket of laws targeting dissent in Palestine and in Israel, the so-called “start-up nation” is forcefully going after Facebook.
Israeli lawmakers have renewed calls for special access to social media platforms such as Facebook to remove posts they believe incite violence. Failing to curb a recent wave of violence against Israeli citizens, public security minister Gilad Erdan intensified these calls.
Speaking on an Israeli news programme last week, Mr Erdan said: “Some of the victims’ blood is on Zuckerberg’s hands. Facebook has turned into a monster. The younger generation in the Palestinian Authority (PA) runs its entire discourse of incitement and lies and finally goes out to commit murderous acts on Facebook’s platform.”
These comments are part of an anti-democratic wave that has slowly engulfed domestic policies in recent years. Several draconian laws are expected to become law. Left-wing NGOs are being intensely scrutinised over their funding, and anti-occupation groups are on the verge of being criminalised. Ben Gurion University last week revoked an award for Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli combat soldiers who speak about the harsh reality of Israel’s occupation and the acts they committed during their military service in the West Bank and Gaza.
Can a country blame a social media platform for political violence emanating from a military occupation? The answer is a tricky one. But, above all, Mr Erdan’s comments reveal Israel’s failure to maintain calm and how that reality is pushing Israeli politicians to find new scapegoats.
Blaming Israeli leftists or PA president Mahmoud Abbas or Hamas in Gaza has failed to cover up the incredible security fractures that are evident in Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank.
In 2013, Israeli police arrested Razi Nabulsi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from Haifa, for one week over status updates he posted to Twitter and Facebook. The police claim his status updates were incitement to violence. To add insult to injury, the police refused to reveal in court what Mr Nabulsi was accused of inciting, and said instead that his public social media updates constitute secret court evidence.
Facebook has actually refused hundreds of requests by Israeli authorities to hand over information on its users. According to Israeli media, Facebook has responded to 52 per cent of 1,000 requests submitted by Israel between 2013 and 2015.
The social media platform is also used by the PA to jail its own dissidents. According to Al Jazeera, almost 50 Palestinians have been detained since 2014 by the PA for comments posted on Facebook. In September 2014, a 23-year-old student from Ramallah was arrested for claiming that a senior PA politician ordered the torture of a Hamas captive. Many others have been arrested for posting comments critical of Mr Abbas’s leadership.
As such, the idea that the PA has some control over Facebook, as Mr Erdan suggested, fails to account for the company’s unwillingness to stop free speech crackdowns in the West Bank connected to its platform. Far from supporting the PA, Facebook has remained hands-off in Palestine.
There is another factor to take into account. While Palestinians tend to be technologically savvy, the fact also remains that they are subject to a military occupation that dominates their telecommunications sector. The West Bank only recently received its first 3G telecom frequency after Israeli authorities approved it. In short, the Palestinian internet goes through an Israeli filter and thus doesn’t have equal and open access to social media platforms. If Israel filters the Palestinian internet, why then does it need Facebook to interfere?
Mr Erdan’s comments much more accurately reflect how Israelis use Facebook and other social media platforms to incite violence against Palestinians. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Israelis who use Facebook to regularly incite violence. Should Palestinian leaders attack Facebook for failing to rein in Israeli incitement on the platform?
Underlying these attacks are the contradictions implicit in Israel’s self-branding as a bastion of technological innovation. The country has invested a great deal of time and money marketing itself as a start-up nation. Tel Aviv is a major tech incubator, and the country’s military technology has been translated into successful civilian tech projects and applications across the world.
But the incendiary comments from the public security minister demonstrate that the government’s priority is the maintenance of the occupation and control over Palestinians. This version of settler colonialism is at odds with the values of a free and open internet, and the ethos of social media. The limits of Israel’s branding and strategy as a start-up nation are profound.
Tel Aviv has criminalised legitimate criticism of its occupation and is now prepared to go after popular debate platforms. This is a slippery slope and one that ultimately shows that Israeli society is slowly breaking down under the weight of occupation.
jdana@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @ibnezra
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog
Age: 35
Inspiration: Wife and kids
Favourite book: Changes all the time but my new favourite is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Best Travel Destination: Bora Bora , French Polynesia
Favourite run: Jabel Hafeet, I also enjoy running the 30km loop in Al Wathba cycling track
Results
2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner Lamia, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner Jap Al Afreet, Elione Chaves, Irfan Ellahi.
3.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner MH Tawag, Bernardo Pinheiro, Elise Jeanne.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner Skygazer, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.30pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 1,700m
Winner AF Kal Noor, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
Winner RB Grynade, Bernardo Pinheiro, Eric Lemartinel.
TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
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